Certain Apple Wallet users will soon be able to leave their passports at home

At the currently-ongoing Money20/20 USA conference, which is taking place from October 26 through 29 in Las Vegas, Nevada, an Apple executive has reaffirmed the company’s plans to introduce digital ID support into its Wallet app for iPhone and Apple Watch sometime “soon.”

In a short video clip uploaded to the web by the official Money20/20 Instagram account, Jennifer Bailey, VP of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, says that Apple is working on everything from hotel keys, car keys, and student ID cards. The exec goes on to mention that digital IDs based off of government-issued passports are also still in the pipeline.

Bailey’s comments reflect Apple’s previous confirmation of a digital ID feature within Wallet, which the company first announced alongside iOS 26 back in June.

“Digital ID offers a secure and private new way for users to store and present their ID information using their iPhone and Apple Watch. Users can seamlessly create and add a Digital ID to Apple Wallet using a U.S. passport,’ writes Apple in a newsroom post.

While not designed to be a full replacement for a traditional, physical passport, Apple Wallet’s digital ID could prove handy at domestic travel checkpoints within the contiguous United States when it ultimately launches to the public.

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Aside from passport-powered digital ID, we’ve seen Apple roll out support for driver’s license cards across several US states in recent months. The tech giant clearly has an ambitious plan for its Wallet app, with it having the technical potential to serve far more utility than simply housing bank cards, credit cards, and certain loyalty program cards.

As ever, convenience tends to drive consumer habits when it comes to the adoption of new technologies, and there’s an undeniable benefit to having all your cards, licenses, IDs, and travel documents securely stowed away on your phone or wrist.

That being said, I also anticipate some level of resistance and push back from users, with concerns over privacy, surveillance, fraud, and identity theft. So long as digital variants of ID cards remain an opt-in experience and aren’t mandated by governmental agencies, I’m happy to see the feature roll out as soon as possible.